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THE TROUBLE WITH DEMONS

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” Ephesians 6:12

About four years ago I held a week revival in a small church in Arkansas where the power of God fell, people were healed, saved and delivered. But one particular event that occurred in that meeting seemed to mark my ministry as one where I would forever deal with demonic activity. A young man, plagued by a life of sin and bondage, came up for prayer to receive Christ, tears falling down his face as the tall young man, no more than 17 years old, greatly desired to be set free from this life of sin and perversion. I could tell right away that there was something about him, but I didn’t know quite what it was. I laid hands on him and the moment I touched his forehead, this same young man made a high pitch scream, shaking violently as this mild mannered young man was overcome by demons. But it did not end there. As I commanded the demon to leave, a black figure in the shape of a scorpion the size of a small dog, appeared on his back and crawled up to the young man’s neck area and then leaped into the air, literally disappearing as the young man was slain in the spirit, but more importantly, delivered and set free from this demonic possession. It was later after service that at least one member of the congregation came up to me and confirmed what others saw, she was visibly in shock as she related that she too saw the demon manifest into the form of a scorpion. This is but one personal encounter I’ve had with demons.

Sad to say this, but the truth is most churches no longer teach the doctrinal truth concerning demons as they once did. The Biblical truth about Demons have sadly been laid aside for a more tolerable message, messages which now consist of topics ranging from prosperity centered messages, self help messages, messages about fulfilling your dreams, or messages about structuring life dynamics through life coaching sessions. Everything but the subject of demons – and Satan loves it.

In a recent Barna study poll taken among evangelical Christians, a majority of those who call themselves “born again” do not believe in the literal existence of Satan. In the same poll, only 35% of “born again” believers accepts the position that says Satan is a real being with real influence and rules over a real, logistical kingdom – earth. Only 35%! The numbers presented are not just an example of our current problems in the church, but it is by far a more direct reflection of a more deeper problem, and that is that most who call themselves “Christian” deny the very truth found in the word.

One of Satan’s biggest triumphs is the ability to make people disbelieve his existence. This includes the reality of demons. From Hollywood plots lines in horror films, to comic books, the reality of demons have been regulated to the back corner of bookstores across America, but worse, all but ignored by the church. Once again, playing right into the scheme of Satan’s playbook. Yet no matter how much men want to ignore the truth about demons, or the willful ignorance of preachers in many pulpits today, the cold hard truth about demons can be found throughout the pages of the Bible. It matters not what Satan’s plan might be when it comes to attempting to make himself and his followers invisible, the pages of the word of God directly reveal the truth of the darkness of demons and it is in that same book of truth where we find how to deal with those same demonic forces.

So where do demons come from? While there are many different beliefs and opinions on the origin of demons, we honestly do not know for sure where they came from, for the Bible does not give us a clear, precise answer, however, we do know that wherever they originated from, Satan played a key role in their creation and quite possibly in their fall.

Regardless where demons originated from, the fact is, they are present around us, they move into our dimension freely and leave freely at will, they seek out individuals to possess, they have a certain degree of power, they are spirit beings without form, they can speak, they have a degree of vast knowledge, there are levels of authority with demons, they show emotion and most importantly, they are subject to Christians because of Christ. (Matthew 4:1-11)

As we move closer to the end of time, presently we can see literal imprints of demonic activity in our world currently. From mass suicides to violence, such as school shootings, there has been a dramatic increase in evil events in our nation, but not just our country, but in other nations as well. Why? Or to be more precise, why now? The truth is, the closer we come to the end, the more powerful the powers of darkness will become. Jesus likened it to the days of Noah, where men were becoming so vile and wicked, that his mind and heart was beyond redemption (which discounts the teaching by some who say Noah preached to those within his world to repent). Besides the increase of evil and sinful men, there was a dramatic increase of demonic activity, so much so that demons were extremely active during the time of Noah, just as it’s beginning to occur in our time now. (Eph. 6:12)

Much of the problems within our world today is due to demonic activity, and worse, many who call themselves believers are ignoring this issue simply because they no longer feel that it’s a teaching that has any place in the church, and nothing could be further from the truth!

Do demons rule over certain Cities? Absolutely! From demons come certain principalities, and those principalities can, and do, have great authority in areas in our world, this is why one can go into a tribal community in Africa and feel the weight of darkness the moment one got off the plane. Why? Because that demonic spirit has been given specific rights because of human acceptance and allegiance to Satan, that Satan assigns certain areas because of the level of worship humans are willing to give them, and based off the history of those places in countries like India and parts of Africa where human sacrifices took place (and still do), demonic activity is strong in those areas. Much the same in America. This is why homes can be considered “haunted”, yet it’s not a “ghost” which is occupying the area, but a demonic spirit, and it’s all due to the level of human interaction and/or event where something evil has occurred. This is why places such as battlefields from the civil war are common places to find such spirits, they harbor in areas where human interaction can lead people into a state of acceptance and even worship.

Yet there is hope and that hope is through Jesus Christ and the authority we have in Jesus name (Mark 16:17-18). To be clear, every demonic spirit that invades our world does so because it’s determined to undermine the work of God in our lives, especially Christians. The only ability we have is thru the name of Jesus, it in itself is what gives us power to overcome the evil one and subjects him to our authority – but it’s because of the cross. So when the believer faces certain demonic powers (and they will) they need to know that in the name of Jesus every demon of hell has to flee! (Luke 10:19)

Yes, demons are real. They are very much alive in our world, and, to some extent, have the ability to do evil, wicked things. But we have been given great authority over the enemy and that authority came all because of the cross. The trouble with demons is, we do not actively contend against these powers, and because of that, we lose crucial ground. If we are to preach the gospel throughout this world, we must understand the enemy and his dominion as well as his actions so that we can overcome him and take dominion for ourselves. This is the gospel of the church and one we must actively be pursuing daily.

Christopher

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Dear Brother Christopher. the subject of demons is not a popular subject in our day, and yet was a very large part of the Lord Jesus Christ’s ministry was that of casting out demons, and setting people free from being under the control of them. I can only attribute this to unbelief on the part of the mainstream church. How can the church possibly be effective in ministering to folks when they are under the influence of demons to one extent or another if they don’t even believe in them, or follow through to cast them out? As a young newly spirit baptized Christian I too had the experience of actually seeing a demon manifest in a woman who’d been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. This woman had become completely taken over by a demon of lust not long after committing adultery with a man in the church. There is much to this story time and space won’t allow here, but suffice it to say that I agree that demons are very present in the world today. If Christians don’t believe in or combat them through the Power of the Holy Spirit, then who will?
God bless you for giving attention to this very needed subject.
Scarlett

Fascinating story.
I know demons are real.
I lived with one.
Saw his cohorts move in my home. Heard them.
Felt them.
Saw the blackness takeover.
Satan tried to take me out.
This forum has confirmation for me.
Anyone who states the believer has no power over demons is living in ignorance of the power of God.